Apparatus for producing tufted material

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for producing tufted material comprises a row of tufting needles, means for driving the needles towards and away from a backing to be tufted, the needles being individually movable into and out of driving engagement with the driving means, and a selectively operable latching device for each of the needles which device is movable into latching engagement with the needles to prevent movement of the needles toward the backing.

United States Patent Brown et al.

[54] APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTED MATERIAL [72] Inventors: Philip Brown, Wembley; Peter Hawkins,

Kingston Hill, both of England 22 Filed: Feb. 24, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 13,619

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 25, 1969 Great Britain ..9,986/69 [52] US. CL ..ll2/79 R, 112/221 [51] Int. Cl ..D05c 15/20 [58] fieldofSearch ..ll2/79 R, 79 A, 221

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,160,125 12/1964 Bryant etal ..1l2/221 X Feb. 15, 1972 3,172,380 3/1965 Boyles ..l12/79R Primary Examiner.lames R. Boler Attorney-Mawhinney & Mawhinney [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for producing tufted material comprises a row of tufting needles, means for driving the needles towards and away from a backing to be tufted, the needles being individually movable into and out of driving engagement with the driving means, and a selectively operable latching device for each of the needles which device is movable into latching engagement with the needles to prevent movement of the needles toward the backing.

11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB i 5 I972 SHEET 2 0F 2 Dial APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTED MATERIAL This invention relates to apparatus for producing tufted material and is particularly applicable to apparatus for producing tufted carpets.

The invention provides an apparatus for producing tufted material comprising a row of tufting needles, means for driving the needles toward and away from a backing to be tufted, the needles being individually movable into and out of driving engagement with the driving means, and a selectively operable latching device for each of the needles which device is movable into latching engagement with the needles to prevent movement of the needles towards the backing.

Each needle may be biased out of engagement with the driving means by resilient means and each latching device may be adapted to urge a needle into engagement with the driving means by movement in the opposite direction to that for effecting latching engagement with the needles.

Each latching device may comprise a lever pivotally mounted about an axis extending parallel to the row of needles, the part of the lever on one side of the pivotal mounting being adapted for latching engagement with a needle and the part of the lever on the other side of the pivotal mounting being engageable with the needle to displace it into engagement with the driving means.

Latching engagement of each needle with a lever may be effected by a projection on one ofthe lever and the needle and a recess in the other of the needle and lever.

Selectively operable power means may be provided for moving the latching devices in the required directions.

The power means may comprise fluid-operated rams.

The rams may be controlled by solenoid-operated valves.

Alternatively the power-operated means may comprise solenoids.

Each needle may be slidably and pivotally mounted on the driving means, each needle being pivotally moved into and out of driving engagement with the driving means so that the needles engaged with the driving means move with the driving means and the nonengaged needles which are held by the latching devices slide with respect to the driving means.

The driving means may comprise a vertically reciprocable beam having vertical grooves along one side thereof in which the needles are accommodated and each needle has laterally projecting trunnions which engage in slots in the sidewalls of the grooves whereby the needles are slidably and pivotally mounted on the beam.

The slots in the sidewalls may be open at their upper ends to permit the needles to be removed from the beam.

Each needle may make driving engagement with the beam by means of an abutment on the needle which engages under the lower end of the beam.

A number of rows of needles may be provided for forming tufts of different colors in the backing whereby a patterned tufted material can be produced.

The following is a description of one embodiment of the invention reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a part of an apparatus for producing tufted carpet; and

FIGS. 2 to 4 are further sections through the apparatus showing the components at different times in the cycle of operation of the apparatus.

The general layout of the apparatus is similar to that described in British Patent Specification No. 1,180,580 so far as are concerned, the means for traversing the backing to be tufted through the apparatus and the means for generating signals which control the selection of the needles to perform tufting but differs in the way the needles are rendered operative and inoperative for reciprocation.

Referring firstly to F IG. 1 of the drawings the part of the apparatus shows beams one of a number of which extend across the apparatus and one fixed to a number of spaced vertically extending posts 11 (only one of which is shown). The posts are connected at their upper ends to a mechanism for reciprocating the posts in up and down directions. The posts 11 are guided in ball races 12 housed in bores extending through fixed beams 13 of the apparatus.

One side of each beam 10 is formed with a number of spaced vertically extending grooves 14 corresponding to the number of needles to be spaced across the width of the ap paratus. The grooves are separated from one another by partitions 15. Each of the partitions formed with a slot 16 extending downwardly from the top thereof and stopping short of the bottom of the partitions. The spacing of the partitions in such as to loosely accommodate a needle holder 17 in the lower end of which a tufting needle 18 is secured.

The needle holder is provided with laterally projecting trunnions 19 which slide in the slots 16 in the partitions adjacent the needle holder and provide a pivotal axis for the needle holder extending in a direction across the apparatus.

Secured to the needle holder 17 below the trunnions 18 is curved length 20 of spring steel which bears on the bottom face of the groove 14 and acts to urge the part of the needle below the trunnions out of the groove.

An upwardly facing shoulder 21 is formed on the pan of the needle holder 17 which projects below the groove 14 and located immediately below the groove is an abutment 22 which is secured to the underside of the beam 10. When the part of the needle holder below the trunnions 19 is located within the groove 14 the shoulder 20 engages under the abutment 22 so that downward movement of the beam 10 moves the needle holder with it. Return upward movement of the needle holder is effected by engagement of the lower ends of the slots 16 with the trunnions 18 on the needle holder.

The part of the needle holder 17 above the trunnions 18 is cranked first outwardly of the groove and then upwardly to provide an upwardly extending limb 23. Located at the top of the limb 23 is a laterally extending projection 24 which is directed towards the fixed beam 13 of the apparatus. Secured to the side face of the fixed beam 13 of the apparatus opposite the limbs 23 of the needle holders is a bar 25 formed with a number of projecting lugs 26 corresponding to a number of partitions 15. Pivotally mounted between the lugs about axes extending parallel to the beam 13 are levers 27 (only one of which is shown). The part of the lever 27 extending above the adjacent lugs 26 is formed with a recess 28 for receiving the projection 24 on the limb 23 of the needle holder. The part of the lever 27 below the lugs is formed with a nose 29 for engaging the limb 23 of the needle holder below the projection.

The upper end of the lever is pivotally connected by a link 30 to a pneumatic ram 31. The ram 31 is mounted in an arcuate member 32 extending across the apparatus and supported on a base 33 which is secured to the fixed beam 13 of the apparatus. Five pneumatic rams are spaced in line around the arcuate member for a group of five needles and this is repeated for groups of five needles across the apparatus. The pneumatic rams are operated by solenoid control valves (not shown) in one direction, the solenoid control valves being actuated by signals from a scanner as described in British Patent Specification No. 1,180,580. The solenoids operate the rams to move the levers in anticlockwise directions and springs (not shown) are provided for effecting return movements in clockwise directions. Switching means are provided for energizing the solenoids of the needles required to effect tufting operations when the beam 10 is at the top of its stroke and are deenergized when the beam is at the bottom of its stroke.

In the position shown in F IG. 1 of the drawings the solenoid is in the deenergized state and the needle holder 17 has been pivoted by the spring 20 so that the shoulder 21 is disengaged from the abutment 22. In this state the lever 27 is at the clockwise limit of its pivotal movement and the projection 24 on the limb 23 of the needle is engaged in the recess 25 on the lever so that the needle 17 is held against downward movement with the beam 10. When the needle is required to effect a tufting operation a signal from the scanner is received by the solenoid which controls the valve of the pneumatic ram 31 which results in the ram being energized to swing the lever 27 in an anticlockwise direction. This movement brings the nose nm'n twin 29 on the lever 27 by movement in the direction of the arrow B into engagement with the needle holder and continued movement causes the needle holder to be swung about the trunnions 19 in a clockwise direction as shown by the arrow A and this movement eventually brings the shoulder 21 into engagement with the abutment 22 as shown in FIG. 2. In this position the projection 24 on the limb 23 of the needle holder is disengaged from the recess 25 in the lever 27. Downward movement of the beam will now draw the needle holder 17 downwardly with it and the needle 18 in the needle holder will effect a tufting operation in the backing (not shown). During the downward movement the nose 29 on the lever 27 which remains stationary slides along the limb 23 of the needle holder.

When the beam 10 reaches the lower limit of its movement and yarn in the needle 18 has been engaged with a suitably located looping device the solenoid which was previously energized by the scanner is deenergized and the aforesaid spring means act to swing the lever 27 in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4. This movement withdraws the nose 29 from engagement with the limb 23 of the needle holder and permits the needle holder to swing in an anticlockwise direction under the influence of the spring 20. This movement disengages the shoulder 21 from the abutment 22 and at the same time the backing material is moved through the apparatus in the same direction as the movement of the needle so that the part of the needle in the backing material follows the movement follows the movement of the backing material.

Swinging of the needle holder in the anticlockwise direction engages the projection 24 on the part of the lever 27 below the pivotal mounting of the lever 27 below the pivotal mounting of the lever. As the beam 10 moves upwardly carrying with it the needle holder the projection 24 slides along the lever causing a slight clockwise pivotal movement of the needle holder until the projection 24 drops into engagement with the recess 28. The beam 10 is then at its upper limit of movement and the cycle can then be repeated when the needle is required for its next tufting operation.

It will be appreciated that the needle holder 17 can readily be withdrawn from the apparatus by disengaging the projection 24 from the recess 28 and then lifting the needle holder to bring the trunnions 19 clear of the slots 16.

The needles on each of the beams 10 are threaded with tufting yarns of different colors and, since each needle can be controlled individually, the tufting apparatus can be used to reproduce on a backing a pattern corresponding to a pattern which is scanned by the aforesaid scanner in a similar manner to that described in British Patent No. 1,180,580.

The invention is not restricted to details of the abovedescribed embodiment. For example instead of solid needles 18 having eyes through which yarn is passed hollow needles may be used. The yarn may be fed through an aperture at the top of the needle to an aperture at the lower end of the needle or the needle holder may also be hollow, in which case the yarn is fed through an aperture in the holder and thence to the needle holder. A pneumatic system may be provided for initially feeding the yarn through the holder and needle or needle alone where only the needle is hollow. Also solenoids may be used in place of the pneumatic rams 31.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for producing tufted material comprising a row of tufting needles, means for driving the needles towards and away from a backing to be tufted, the needles being individually movable into and out of driving engagement with the driving means, resilient means for biasing each needle out of engagement with the driving means, and a selectively operable latching device for each of the needles each of which latching devices comprises a lever pivotally mounted about an axis extending parallel to the row of needles, lever having a part on one side of the pivotal mounting adapted for latching engagement with the needle to prevent movement of the needle towards the backing on rotation of the lever in one direction and the lever having a further part on the other side of the pivotal mounting whic further part is engageable with the needle to displace the needle into engagement with the driving means on rotation of the lever in the opposite direction.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein latching engagement of each needle with a lever is effected by a projection on one of the lever and the needle and a recess in the other of the needle and lever.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein selectively operable power means are provided for each of the needles for rotating the levers of the latching devices in the required directions.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the power means comprise fluid operated rams.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the rams are controlled by solenoid operated valves.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the power operated means comprise solenoids.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each needle is slidably and pivotally mounted on the driving means, each needle being pivotally moved into and out of driving engagement with the driving means so that the needles engaged with the driving means move with the driving means and the nonengaged needles which are held by the latching devices slide with respect to the driving means.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the driving means comprise a vertically reciprocable beam having vertical grooves along one side thereof in which the needles are accommodated and each needle has laterally projecting trunnions which engage in slots in the sidewalls of the grooves whereby the needles are slidably and pivotally mounted on the beam.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slots in the sidewalls are open at their upper ends to permit the needles to be removed from the beam.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein each needle makes driving engagement with the beam by means of an abutment on the needle which engages under the lower end of the beam.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a number of rows of needles are provided for forming tufts of different colors in the backing whereby a patterned tufted material can be produced.

tilt. mun 

1. An apparatus for producing tufted material comprising a row of tufting needles, means for driving the needles towards and away from a backing to be tufted, the needles being individually movable into and out of driving engagement with the driving means, resilient means for biasing each needle out of engagement with the driving means, and a selectively operable latching device for each of the needles each of which latching devices comprises a lever pivotally mounted about an axis extending parallel to the row of needles, lever having a part on one side of the pivotal mounting adapted for latching engagement with the needle to prevent movement of the needle towards the backing on rotation of the lever in one direction and the lever having a further part on the other side of the pivotal mounting which further part is engageable with the needle to displace the needle into engagement with the driving means on rotation of the lever in the opposite direction.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein latching engagement of each needle with a lever is effected by a projection on one of the lever and the needle and a recess in the other of the needle and lever.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein selectively operable power means are provided for each of the needles for rotating the levers of the latching devices in the required directions.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the power means comprise fluid operated rams.
 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the rams are controlled by solenoid operated valves.
 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the power operated means comprise solenoids.
 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each needle is slidably and pivotally mounted on the driving means, each needle being pivotally moved into and out of driving engagement with the driving means so that the needles engaged with the driving means move with the driving means and the nonengaged needles which are held by the latching devices slide with respect to the driving means.
 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the driving means comprise a vertically reciprocable beam having vertical grooves along one side thereof in which the needles are accommodated and each needle has laterally projecting trunnions which engage in slots in the sidewalls of the grooves whereby the needles are slidably and pivotally mounted on the beam.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slots in the sidewalls are open at their upper ends to permit the needles to be removed from the beam.
 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein each needle makes driving engagement with the beam by means of an abutment on the needle which engages under the lower end of the beam.
 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a number of rows of needles are provided for forming tufts of different colors in the backing whereby a patterned tufted material can be produced. 